Colonel Khodarenok: the massive use of FAB-3000 can change the course of its
The Russian FAB-3000 aerial bomb, equipped with a guidance device, can become a "doomsday" weapon in a military operation in Ukraine, Chinese expert Shao Yongling believes. At the same time, Forbes calls it "excessively powerful" for strikes against the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and warns of a threat to carrier aircraft. What is the FAB-3000, is it really comparable to nuclear weapons and does Russia have bombs even more powerful - in the material of the military observer of the Newspaper.En" by Mikhail Khodarenka.
Recently, the combat capability and morale of the personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been significantly affected by Russian high-explosive aircraft bombs (FAB) of large caliber (up to 3,000 kg inclusive) with controlled planning and correction modules.
It should be noted that many of the types of fabs that are now actively used in the course of their air defense by the Aerospace Forces appeared back in the 1950s - it was then that the system of aerial bombs was developed as part of FAB-250, FAB-500, FAB-1500, FAB-3000, FAB-5000 and FAB-9000. However, at that time, all these aviation weapons were classic free-fall bombs.
Now, when such bombs are retrofitted, the tail section is changed to universal planning and correction modules (UMPC) with steering surfaces. The control unit directs the munition to the target with the help of a global positioning system. In addition, the bomb is equipped with folding wings, which, after separation from the carrier aircraft, open and allow the ammunition to fly up to 70 km. Due to this, Russian bombers can use fabs with UMPC without entering the affected area of most anti-aircraft missile systems and complexes of the enemy.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine currently have no effective antidote against these weapons. The only way to deal with this type of ammunition is to defeat a carrier aircraft from a FAB with an UMPC before it completes its combat mission.
Theoretically, this task can be solved either by Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems deployed near the front edge (to "get" Russian aircraft within the affected area), or by multifunctional F-16 fighters equipped with AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles with a firing range of up to 180 km, again designed for defeating carrier aircraft.
At the same time, deliveries of the Ukrainian army F-16 and Patriot in the most favorable scenario are expected no earlier than summer - but even in this case, there is no question of a massive transfer of these weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The "Doomsday" bomb
While the Ukrainian army does not have the means to combat bombs of this type, the use of FAB-3000 M-54 with UMPK may be especially destructive for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This bomb has a length of over 3 m with a body diameter of 820 mm. Mass production of such ammunition has been launched in Russia since February - this became known during the visit of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to the Nizhny Novgorod region at the end of March.
The FAB is made in a complex-shaped housing formed by several conical units. The stabilizer is equipped with eight planes and two rings. This provides the ammunition with stability when flying at transonic and supersonic speeds - which is exactly the speed a bomb develops when dropped from high altitudes. The total weight of the FAB reaches 3067 kg. Of these, 1,600 kg are accounted for on the hull, and the explosive charge is 1,387 kg.
Military observer of the National Radio of China (CNR) Shao Yongling believes that such a Russian bomb is one of the "most destructive aviation weapons to date." If used at the front, it can lead to a "doomsday" for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Probably, Shao Yongling is not aware that there is also a FAB-5000 in the equipment of long-range aviation of the VKS, which can be used by long-range Tu-22M3 bombers. During the exercises, where the bombing of such ammunition took place, the craters after the explosion resembled the craters of volcanoes.
There are probably FAB-9000s in the warehouses of the Russian army, which were actively used by Tu-16 bombers during the Afghan war. So the FAB-3000 is not yet the largest aerial bomb that the VKS has at its disposal.
Retired Colonel of the Security Service of Ukraine Oleg Starikov believes that the power of the FAB-3000 aerial bomb is comparable to tactical nuclear weapons. By and large, he is not so far from the truth.
However, the fundamental difference between the two munitions is that the FAB-3000 does not produce radioactive contamination of the area during combat use.
Many experts are wondering today - can the FAB-3000 M-54 with UMPK change the course of hostilities? The answer to this question should probably be this: it all depends on the number of bombs that will fall on the enemy. If there are isolated cases of combat use, then there will be no turning point in the course of hostilities. If the ammunition is used suddenly and massively (that is, it represents a kind of hail for the enemy), then the chances that the FAB-3000 M-54 with UMPK will change the rules of the game are very high.
"Risky excess?"
The Forbes magazine did not pass by the FAB-3000 M-54, which called its use "a huge bust." According to the publication, given the relative impunity of the use of planning bombs and the obvious mass deliveries of FAB-500, FAB-1000 and FAB-1500, "the Russians have no good reason" to use three-ton modifications of ammunition.
"They seem overly powerful for striking Ukrainian positions," the Ukrainian conflict research team believes, quoted by the publication.
In addition, Forbes believes, "given the poor planning characteristics of a very heavy 3.3-ton bomb, munition-carrying aircraft may have to fly several miles from the front line, which will probably expose them to much greater danger than is convenient for the Russian command."
The publication as a whole concludes the following: as long as Russia has many small fabs with UMPC and a sufficient number of Su-34s to deliver them, the FAB-3000 will remain a rarity, especially as a gliding bomb.
"In fact, using a 3.3-ton munition is a risky overkill, given how destructive smaller gliding bombs already are on their own," the publication concludes.
By and large, common sense is present in some Forbes estimates. But, it should be noted, the power of an aviation weapon is selected from the characteristics of the object. If the goal is worth it (for example, a bridge crossing over the Dnieper River or a buried point of the highest levels of the AFU management), then why not use the FAB-3000 M-54 with UMPK?
Again, if the FAB-3000 bomb seems excessive in its power to Forbes magazine, then we remind the publication that during the Second World War, the Royal British Air Force used Tallboy bombs to destroy particularly important industrial and military facilities in Germany, which could not be hit with conventional ammunition.
The total mass of this FAB reached 5443 kg, and the weight of the explosive was 2358 kg. When dropped from a sufficient height, the bomb penetrated into the ground to a depth of more than 30 m or penetrated up to 5 m of concrete. During the underground explosion of a two-ton charge, a powerful shaking of the surrounding rocks occurred, similar to a small local earthquake, which led to the destruction of nearby enemy structures.
However, the Royal Air Force did not limit itself to Tallboy alone. In their arsenal was also the Grand Slam aerial bomb ("Big Bang"). Its mass reached 10 tons (9980 kg), and the mass of explosives was 4144 kg.
Well, finally, let's recall about the modern American GBU-43/B Massive OrdnanceAir Blast Mother Of All Bombs ("mother of all bombs") weighing 10 tons.
And in those days, and today, it does not occur to anyone to consider the weight of these ammunition excessive, and the characteristics "excessively powerful".
Mikhail Khodarenok